The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    478
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. SALAZAR, HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to expanding the right
   to  assistance  of counsel to include petitioner kinship caregivers in
   custody and guardianship proceedings and respondents  in  guardianship
   proceedings
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 262 of the family court act,  as
 added  by  chapter  682  of  the  laws of 1975, the opening paragraph as
 amended by section 3 of part A of chapter 3 of the laws of  2005,  para-
 graphs  (i) and (iv) as amended and paragraph (ix) as added by chapter 3
 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (ii) as amended by  chapter  693  of  the
 laws  of  1981, paragraph (iii) as amended by chapter 666 of the laws of
 1976, and paragraph (viii) as added by chapter 456 of the laws of  1978,
 is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  Each  of  the persons described below in this subdivision has the
 right to the assistance of counsel. When such person  first  appears  in
 court,  the  judge shall advise such person before proceeding that he or
 she has the right to be represented by counsel of his or her own  choos-
 ing,  of the right to have an adjournment to confer with counsel, and of
 the right to have counsel assigned by the court in any case where he  or
 she is financially unable to obtain the same:
   (i)  the  respondent  in  any proceeding under article ten or ten-A of
 this act and the petitioner in any proceeding under part eight of  arti-
 cle ten of this act;
   (ii) the petitioner and the respondent in any proceeding under article
 eight of this act;
   (iii)  the  respondent  in  any proceeding under part three OR FOUR of
 article six of this act;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00507-01-3
 S. 478                              2

 
   (iv) the parent or person legally responsible, foster parent, or other
 person having physical or legal custody of the child in  any  proceeding
 under  article  ten or ten-A of this act or section three hundred fifty-
 eight-a, three hundred eighty-four or three hundred eighty-four-b of the
 social  services  law,  and a non-custodial parent or grandparent served
 with notice pursuant to paragraph (e)  of  subdivision  two  of  section
 three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services law;
   (v) the parent of any child seeking custody or contesting the substan-
 tial  infringement  of his or her right to custody of such child, in any
 proceeding before the court in  which  the  court  has  jurisdiction  to
 determine such custody;
   (vi)  ANY PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT OF A CHILD, WHO IS SEEKING CUSTODY
 OR GUARDIANSHIP OF SUCH CHILD UNDER PART THREE OR FOUR OF ARTICLE SIX OF
 THIS ACT, AND WHO IS A KINSHIP CAREGIVER OF SUCH CHILD. FOR THE PURPOSES
 OF THIS PARAGRAPH THE TERM  KINSHIP  CAREGIVER  SHALL  MEAN  ANY  PERSON
 DESCRIBED  UNDER  SUBDIVISION TWENTY-TWO OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVEN-
 TY-ONE OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW;
   (VII) any person in any proceeding before the court in which an  order
 or  other  determination is being sought to hold such person in contempt
 of the court or in willful violation of a previous order of  the  court,
 except  for  a  contempt  which  may be punished summarily under section
 seven hundred fifty-five of the judiciary law;
   [(vii)] (VIII) the parent of a child in any  adoption  proceeding  who
 opposes the adoption of such child[.];
   [(viii)]  (IX)  the respondent in any proceeding under article five of
 this act in relation to the establishment of paternity[.]; AND
   [(ix)] (X) in a proceeding under article ten-C of this act:
   (1) a parent or caretaker as such terms are  defined  in  section  one
 thousand ninety-two of this act;
   (2)  an  interested adult as such term is defined in section one thou-
 sand ninety-two of this act provided that:
   (A) the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held  pursuant
 to  article  ten-C  of this act was removed from the care of such inter-
 ested adult;
   (B) the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held  pursuant
 to article ten-C of this act resides with the interested adult; or
   (C)  the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held pursuant
 to article ten-C of this act resided with such  interested  adult  imme-
 diately  prior to the filing of the petition under article ten-C of this
 act;
   (3) any interested adult as such term is defined in section one  thou-
 sand  ninety-two  of  this act or any person made a party to the article
 ten-C proceeding pursuant to subdivision (c)  of  section  one  thousand
 ninety-four  of  this  act  for  whom the court orders counsel appointed
 pursuant to subdivision (d) of section one thousand ninety-four of  this
 act.
   §  2.  Paragraph  1  of  subdivision (a) of section 1094 of the family
 court act, as amended by chapter 3 of the laws of 2012,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   (1)  appoint  an  attorney  to  represent the child in accordance with
 section two hundred forty-nine of this act, and appoint an  attorney  to
 represent  a  parent,  caretaker  or interested adult in accordance with
 paragraph [(ix)] (X) of subdivision (a) of section two hundred sixty-two
 of this act, if he or she is financially unable to obtain counsel;
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law.